"I have something I don't want to loseóSo much so that these terrible feelings have grown."

A pianist who attempted suicide 3 times, Juri, is taken to help her aunt at a prison where murderers who killed indiscriminately are sentenced to death. There, she meets a man named Yuu who took the lives of 3 people. A mother's antagonism--a brother's death... Together they embrace the violent rebellion in their hearts caused by the large, deep scars they carry. However, before long, they both embrace an earnest hope in their hearts. "I want to live..."

An adaptation of a novel by South Korea's most popular female novelist, Gong Ji-Young.

Disclaimer: There are a lot of people who have Watashitachi as their favorite manga. My arguments canít change that, as all reviews are ultimately subjective and have no truth values. I canít honestly say I donít judge your taste if you do like this work but it doesnít invalidate whatever emotional response you got from reading this manga. All I can do is lay out my arguments and hope people hear it.

Watashitachi no Shiasena Jikan, hereby referred to as Our Happy Time, is the manga adaption of a Korean bestselling novel by Gong Ji-young, an influential author with her own Wikipedia article. I have not read the novel and am only judging the manga, though Iíve read that it is mostly faithful to the novel. The manga was adapted and drawn by Sahara Mizu, whose art I really do enjoy. I have no qualms with the art so letís get into the story.

The most problematic aspect of the Our Happy Time, is how the author softballs the entire issue of the death penalty by portraying the murderer in an extremely favorable light. Yuu or Prisoner 3987 is set up on this page 1http://i.imgur.com/NEXgc5J.jpg to be a death row inmate who brutally murdered three innocent lives. He has a tragic back-story that stretches creditability: his abusive parents die leaving him to an abusive orphanage, which leads him running away to live on the streets, prostitute himself to support his blind little brother. His blind brother then commits suicide in order to not be a burden. 2 http://i.imgur.com/JLuitRj.jpg 3 http://i.imgur.com/GbyVMIe.jpg [4] http://i.imgur.com/4hHJY3A.jpg 5 http://i.imgur.com/5W7LcuV.jpg The warden speculates that his own unhappy family situation leads him to kill a happy mother and child out of jealously. 6http://i.imgur.com/UH8WWTF.jpg However Yuu then turns out to be so remorseful that the mere mention of the victims triggers a panic attack 7http://i.imgur.com/bI60gMC.jpg 8http://i.imgur.com/1F3y6ka.jpg All of the previous setup for his character turns out to be a smokescreen because Yuu reveals the actual villain of the story who forced him into the circumstances of his murders; the character I call sadistic faceless evil businessman.

Sadistic faceless evil businessman pays poor people to do violent acts like removing eyeballs just because heís evil and sadistic. 8http://i.imgur.com/fIqpiXR.jpg [9] http://i.imgur.com/fXQXgqf.jpg Meanwhile Yuu adopts a kid and his cat and stops working for the businessman. When the businessman finds this out, he sends out his goons to trick Yuuís adopted kid into a traffic accident when he tries to save his cat. 10http://i.imgur.com/zI9taMp.jpg The kid and the cat both die. So the obvious next logical step the businessman makes is try and get Yuu back into his game by offering to pay him to push a young mother and her daughter onto the train tracks. 11 http://i.imgur.com/9MM7UO3.jpg This leads to Yuu taking the young motherís umbrella which accidently knocks her off of the station while the train is coming. He kills the faceless sadistic evil businessman and is simply too late to help the young mother and her daughter. 12 http://i.imgur.com/qKyAbf1.jpg 13 http://i.imgur.com/oiKjVmP.jpg 14 http://i.imgur.com/SSrprWu.jpg

The obvious purpose of this convoluted series of events is to absolve Yuu of pretty much all blame for his crimes. The mother and her child were just accidents. The guy was evil and Yuu just wanted justice. Remember both the warden and the female lead, Juri, essentially say in page 1 and 5 that tragic back stories donít excuse the crime done; but that narrative is essentially doing the opposite for Yuu. Heís basically the most lovable murderer out there because of his blame being shifted to the awfully convenient villain in the sadistic faceless evil businessman. One defense of Yuu being forgiven is that the moral of the story is that victims ought to forgive their tormentors as a way to move on with their lives as evidenced by the Nunís story of her daughter getting killed by a drunk driver. [15] http://i.imgur.com/5LgWDOn.jpg 16 http://i.imgur.com/BxsqLYr.jpg 17 http://i.imgur.com/lZn21TO.jpg

But thatís exactly my point. Our Happy Time makes it so easy for us to forgive Yuu that this story is a strawman argument against the death penalty. Most murderers arenít tragic bishounens who are remorseful of their crimes. Our Happy Time doesnít have the courage to show the ugly side of this issue and still stand firm that the death penalty is wrong. Take this example of when Penn and Teller argued against the death penalty on their show ďBullshit.Ē They invited Polly Klaasís father on to tell the story of her kidnapping, rape, and murder by a remorseless criminal who then taunted him in court by claiming Polly said her father raped her as her last words. And Penn and Teller were still against the death penalty. Iím not saying you have to have such graphic examples in order to make a statement on social issues like the death penalty. But I canít take Our Happy Hours as a seriously as either a critique or tragedy when the author makes such a sloppy and poorly written attempt to defend her main character with an obvious villain to redirect his crimes and an overwrought tragic back story.

I don't object to stories having rape in it, its fine to address heavy real world issues. But I object to the way rape is used in Our Happy Time. Rape is used in here as an easy sympathy grabber for what is essentially an unsympathetic character. The female MC is beautiful, drives fast cars, and hasn't worked a day in her life. She's the perfect casting role for a k-pop star, but how do we make the audience relate to her? Throw in a rape plot. Throw in a horrible maternal figure to contrast a great maternal figure (a classic in K-dramas). Throw in some trite lines about forgiveness. What message is this actually sending? 18 http://imgur.com/a/ssVhX

I hate you but I forgive you is nonsensical. The vaguely Christian undertones here is that she becomes a bigger person and moves on by forgiving her mother. But that doesn't have any consequences besides letting a rape accomplice off scot-free. Forgiving your torturer isn't a necessary step to moving on it life, and I think itís incredibly trite and cliché to think so. Will she invite her mother to her eventual children's birthdays? Or more cynically is this an agreement to keep paying the bills for her socialite lifestyle? This form of forgiveness is meaningless. I donít think Our Happy Time does enough to answer this very important moral question; why should you forgive your rapist? Why is moving on without forgiveness not possible?

I want you to imagine an alternative Our Happy Time in which Yuu really did intend to kill that innocent mother in the train station; an alternative story where his counsel wasnít a beautiful young woman who also was his childhood idol. Could you find it in your heart to comfort and forgive a ruthless killer without the sappy romantic tragedy and blame shifting? I think an emotional complex and morally well reasoned story could convince me to so. But Our Happy Time isnít that story.

I don't know what the people who didn't like this manga were expecting, but I truly believe they missed the whole point of it.Sure there was romance, sure there was drama, crimes and sorrow but this was not the point of the story!The point was that the two protagonists had shut themselves in because they had been hurt by everyone around them and by life in general. They didn't want to open to others because they felt they would only show hypocrit pity or disgust, without truly wanting to get to know them. They wanted to die because they thought their mere presence on earth was source of sorrow for others. They thought life had no meaning and they never felt emotions like happiness or love.Then they finally find someone who doesn't show pity who understands without judging and that needs them.This is the whole point: they find someone who wants them to live! Someone who cares for their existence in a true sincere way. They don't see a criminal and a rich girl, they see the person beyond those definitions.And the ending is deeply sad but invigorating: he wants her to live, he gives her the strength to break with her past and go on with her life. And she shows him emotions, something he had shut himself off from, he has come to terms with dying a long time ago but now for the first time he cherishes his life and life in general. It is a gift that even if for a short time has allowed him to "live" instead of being a walking-dead. He got to know love and happiness at the end of a life of sorrow.

If you didn't get this then you didn't look deep enough. Or maybe you want everything to be spelled out clearly because you never reflect on what you see.

Some of you kept seeing stereotypes "the criminal", "the rich girl with a dark past". You are doing the same mistake of the people in the manga. You are not going beyond these definitions. Was the criminal a cruel serial killer who enjoyed killing? No. He was a good man who had tried to care for others and give them a better life but was scarred by life and the really cruel person who had paid for the second child to be killed. I'm not saying he's not a criminal anymore, but that beyond a criminal's face there is a person that doesn't necessarily have to be a demon.You should look deeper otherwise you remain a shallow person yourself.

This is one of those rare series that brought me to tears, towards the end, I was laughing at myself for crying and being such a baby. But seriously, this is one of, if not the best manga I have read. It was short, but the characterisation was done beautifully, the ending was realistic and well executed. I must commend the author for such a well thought out story and the illustrator was really good at capturing the emotions that came with the story.

This is one of the most touching stories I have read... Itís no wonder that the novelist is famous! Although I didn't read the novel, I would say that this manga could have done no better getting the many messages across. The art and style is beautiful and complements the gentle love that develops between the two characters.

I think this story is special because it doesn't make things out of proportion - the most captivating aspect is the amount of realism embedded in the story. The message is clear that these things happen and the various feelings of victims/perpetrators do occur. It has opened my eyes to situations I could never imagine, in a bewitchingly realistic fashion. For example, the full horror of being a child prostitute..not only do you see the horror from a third person perspective, but you can experience the sadness and also the small joys they can find in life.

Surprisingly, this story doesn't make you feel you have just sunk yourself into all hells on earth, but rather you see the working emotions people feel daily. It shows how deep pain which wrecks a person's desire for life, can be unravelled with patience and by opening ones' heart.. It shows the corruptness and darkness of life that can pull people to think of ending their lives, and the penetrating hope and love which brings people to overcome this.

Many people have expressed their likes or dislikes for this...I personally think that hope and love exists and that they are main elements which help pull people through times of suffering. Otherwise, other than madness, what else keeps people living when their life feels completely abused?

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

The warden/Inoue pointed out that Yuu's life was peppered with sadness and grief, and unlike some of the other convicts Inoue had come across, Yuu is shatteringly remorseful of his mistake. He was nearly hyperventilating from his guilt when Juri mentioned his crime - he respected life and had hope in it.

This story isn't saying that everyone is the same..its simply putting forth the idea that people can be saved from their pain and move on in life. Moreover, I dont think this story is cliché about the unfairness of law/society because if it was: then why wasn't the prison warden this cold-hearted jerk that prevented clergies to visit Yuu, rather than Inoue-the-warden who played music for Yuu and arranged the last scene? And if it was, it wouldn't bother portraying the pain of the victims feel too, from third person as well as from Aunt Monica - it would have just showed the courthouse judging, devoid of emotions. But it didn't and showed the complicated feelings from both sides. More importantly,

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

Yuu Wanted to be punished for his crime, and alleviate the pain of the victim's family - and although he was sad to die in the end, if he wasn't in prison, then he wouldn't have been able to meet Juri and known joy again.

The ending portrays the flaws of real society...the world isn't so idealistic that every criminal would be captured and put into prison, and sometimes the wrong people are put into prison to compensate the pain of others..Since some issues are so sensitive, it is ultimately the choice of the victim. Sometimes you just cant expect the victim to save themselves as well as be a hero.

Brief thoughts on the subplots/backgrounds of Juri, and a little of Yuu:

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

Rape is definitely a sensitive topic, and no act is the definite "correct" way. In many incidents, rape is not reported simply because the victim feels ashamed or traumatised of what happened to bring themselves to confront the experience. It probably took a lot of courage for her to tell her mother, and probably just the spur of the moment...If Juri's mother tells her that she wonít be believed in, it would only increase Juri's insecurity and exacerbate her feelings and most likely decrease the chances that she would report the incident. As for Yuu, I personally haven't read manga that has a character with the history of child prostitution, and he wasn't a hero - he said so himself he thought how much better off he'd be without his brother, but the warmth during cold times kept him going. Yuu simply never gave up hope in life despite all the pain. Similarly, Juri also didn't lose all hope in living, she asked Aunt Monica to pray for her to not want to die again. I don't see the story cliché.

Hmm : | This story made me cry whilst reading the end, and afterwards... but a sweet feeling is left behind because to its core, this story is about two people who had lost most of their hope in life, but by finding each other they rediscover happiness, love, and learns to see the joy in living.

The relationship between the two characters is really sad in a lot of ways, but also very touching. Yuu and Juri's relationship is a bit strange, but at the same time I think a lot of people can probably relate to different aspects of it as well. One of the really interesting parts of this manga is the discussion about the use of the death penalty that occurs between Juri and the warden Inoue, and also how each of the characters seem to possess their own particular variety of selfishness.

I'm not going to write a long summary, because that would ruin the whole story. But I will write that this manga is sad, that it's beautiful, that I cried at the ending and that I cried pretty much through the whole Manga when I understood where the story was leading, and I will also write that I haven't read something as touching as this for a long while.

Even after finishing reading this, tears are still flowing down my face. Well, I knew what I was getting myself into. And still, I can't help imagining what their pain must have felt like. All my problems seem so insignificant in comparison.

Since this is an adaptation from a novel, there's no point in giving a thorough critique on the manga. The plot was well executed. The characters were amazing. Especially the prison guard guy. He's my hero.

Well, that's all I wanted to say in this incoherent and emotional review of mine.

this is one of the most beautiful mangas i`ve ever read. it has honestly made me think a lot, about life, about living. i`ve thought about suicide before on many occasions, and i`ve attempted to commit the act twice because i just didn`t want to live in pain for another day, but this made me think, if i did, how would my family feel if they found me, hanging from the ceiling of my room, or with a bloody wrist. how would my family live, would they lose their smile because of me? i am also a victim of sexual harassment. my dad, when i was younger, would strip me of my clothing, and run his manhood in areas he should never have access to, but it happened anyway. i was only seven then, i did not understand anything. when i was older, and mature enough to understand what he did, i felt disgusted in myself, that i let him do that to me. that, and all the abuse and peer pressure that i had surrounding me, was the reason why i first tried to take my life. i ate a full pack of those silica gel packets that you find in your shoebox. nothing happened to me, of course. but i was only about 11 then, and i was already thinking so negatively. i don`t what would have happened if they were toxic, and i died then. i don`t want to think about it much either. but anyways, i totally recommend this, it`s a beautiful tragedy. just remember to have a tissue box with you, or else your sleeves would be completely soaked, like mine was during the first half of the manga.

I enjoyed reading this story a lot. It was deep and had the kind of melancholic undertone I like to read from time to time.Others have probably stressed the virtues of the story better than I have, so I'll try to point out the flaws that made this manga a 9 in my book, not a 10.

First of all, the whole aspect of religion in the story does not seem to be particularly well done. I am very critical of religion, so I was going to be annoyed by this no matter the plot, but e.g. the Christian baptism of Yuu just seemed to have no purpose in the story. It didn't feel right. Or rather, it seemed to me that Yuu changed in enough subtle ways that a story-telling device as blunt as a major religious rite seemed to cheapen his growth as a character. That he called himself Augustine made me even blink with incredulity.However, this is really only nitpicking or personal preference. The second issue annoys me far more because it strikes at the heart of the message this manga wants to send:

Spoiler (highlight to view)

There is so much wrong with the rape subplot. That Juri's mother hates her daughter so much she tells her to basically live with being raped is horrible but believable from her twisted point of view. That "nobody would believe Juri", is not.A major theme of the story is forgiveness, and I agree that forgiving her mother rather than killing her seems to be the better choice - if we are limited to these two options. However, why was the option "call the police" never discussed? Juri was bleeding and had just been raped; her rapist would never have gotten away with it if she had reported it right away...In the real world, one of the dangers of not reporting rapists is that they will just do it again. (Look up "Catholic sex abuse cases" on Wikipedia for a recent and ongoing example.) As far as I see, it is no different here. In fact, the rapist still lives, is still free and apparently came by to her mother's house in chapter 3. That makes no sense whatsoever.Forgiving her mother in the twisted circumstances described in this manga makes no sense and seems to fall into one of the great dangers of the Christian call for forgiveness, which calls for it before any reparations or restitutions or whatever are made. That's not how it works, and it's not justice. Before forgiveness there must be restitution - be it putting the rapist into prison or (since we are in a manga) him having a mysterious accident or whatever.Due to the absence thereof, Juri's forgiveness is cheapened and sends the message that "it's okay to be evil - there won't be any consequences" (both in the cases of the mother and of the rapist).

(On a sidenote, this is my first review on this site. So while I don't consider this manga a true masterpiece due to its faults, I do consider it as something quite special.)

There are only a few manga that succeed in putting some feeling inside of your heart.I mean, maybe movies or books are better ways to make people excited, but man, this manga own 'em all.

I didn't thought it was a lame melodrama like some have stated.The characters are deep and complex, and it really succeeds in making you feel like they feel.The feeling you have by it end, is something no manga have made me feel so far.

The only thing I've felt uncomfortable about the manga, is that the time-line is not clear. I couldn't find exactly how much time elapsed in the history, but it's not important to the development, and probably, the story were made to feel like that.

Replying to the bro in the comment below.

Spoiler (highlight to view)

Bro, if you're reading this thing thinking there were any "good guy/bad guy" thing, that there was some redemption at all, I think you're doing it wrong. The history is about how Yuu and Juri, discovers in each other, that there could have been a place for each on of them in life, that life is something worth of. If you think that it's JUST some tragic love thing, I think you're doing it epically wrong.